Week in the Life - Monday

Today we had a sick day. Andrew was out of school for MLK day and a teacher in-service and everyone is feeling less than stellar! Andrew has been coughing and snotty for about a week and has been kind enough to share his cold with Jonathan and Hannah, even though they both just had bad colds. So, we just laid low today.

The boys moved their Lego table in front of the TV so they could watch Robin Hood again and several other PBS shows. It was also a screen day.

I clipped some coupons and drank several cups of coffee while they watched TV.

Andrew turned his fire rescue boat into several robots. I love the creativity Legos bring out of my boys!

I did several loads of laundry. I'm convinced it multiplies over the weekend!

The kiddos all had popsicles for a pre-lunch snack. Healthy, I know! Jonathan was having a coughing fit, and we have found that popsicles help calm his cough. Hannah really wanted a popsicle too, but I didn't want to deal with the mess. Obviously I eventually caved. She was THRILLED!

I love this face! It took her a little bit to get used to the cold, tangy flavor, but she prevailed and ate almost the whole thing before it melted. And I love how Jonathan is watching Hannah! So sweet!

After lunch, the boys had some screen time while Hannah napped and I blogged, folded laundry and worked on dinner.

We had a little too much screen time and had to go outside to run off some of our crazies. They thought they needed to play with their Rescue Heroes outside. I let them because it kept them from running too much and stirring up the cough. And it really wasn't that late when I took this picture, but the sun was setting and so it looks much later than it was!

We had Paula Deen's Swiss Steak for dinner. This picture doesn't translate the flavor. So yummy! And no, the kids did not eat this as pictured. They did eat the steak and rice separately, of course.

And for dessert, brownies and ice cream. Hannah didn't get any ice cream, but don't tell her! She was very happy with her little brownie!

Andrew's favorite part of the meal!

bath time

brushing teeth - Super important since we fear this guy has a cavity. We'll find out Thursday...stay tuned.

And finally bedtime stories with Daddy and then bed for the kiddos!

Now it's time for me to meet my husband in the basement to watch the latest episode of Castle.
We survived another day!

Nap time Destruction

You know it's a bad sign when you walk in the boys' room and find this...

And then this...

Cranky Jonathan. Too bad he wasted so much nap time emptying all the drawers!

Andrew's handiwork - age 2, September 2007

And he was very proud of his accomplishment. *sigh*

So apparently, a 2-year-old rite of passage I was not privy to is the need to destroy your bedroom during nap time. Jonathan has been taking a nap most days due to the fact that he wakes at the crack of dawn and then is a train wreck until nap time. Unfortunately, some days, he chooses an alternate activity to sleep, like emptying all of his dresser drawers. Andrew use to do the same thing. I don't understand why they would choose destruction when they have the opportunity for a blessed nap!

"New" Chest of Drawers

$10 chest of drawers + $12 paint = new dresser in boys' room!

Last weekend was Labor Day, and we labored away. Not in the Labor and Delivery kind of way that I'm ready for, but we did complete several projects on our pre-baby list. One project was to re-do this little chest of drawers. I failed to take a picture of the before, but trust me it was UGLY! For starters, the pull handle was shiny gold and running the length of the drawer under the handle was also a 1-inch strip of shiny gold. The wood was a shiny veneer, light oakish color. But it only cost $10. Quite the steal my parents found for us at a recent auction!

Keith started by removing the fancy gold trim with the help of Goof Off - magic stuff that removed all the adhesive left behind by the lovely gold trim. He was worried he was going to have to sand it off, but no. Although, he may have lost a few important brain cells thanks to the strong smells. Then he removed the pulls and spray painted them black. He had found this espresso-colored spray paint that adheres to all surfaces with no prep work required and decided to try it for the exterior. (Andrew wanted him to buy fire-engine red paint. Fortunately Keith was able to talk him out of that color choice!) I was skeptical that spray paint was what we needed. I was ready to sand and get out the brushes, but we tried his way first, and in mere minutes the drawers were transformed from ugly to pretty chocolate.

After letting it dry, he put the pulls back on, and we moved it into the boys' room. And now it holds some of Jonathan's clothes as we continue to work on the bedroom transition.

As a side note, the boys are getting better at going to sleep at night. But the past two mornings, they have woken each other up at 6:45 am. I don't function before 7:30. Actually I really don't function before 8:30, so you see how this is a problem for me...plus they are cranky most of the day and Andrew no long believes in naps...and I'm cranky because I lost at least 45 precious minutes of sleep. So our new policy is about once a week the boys sleep in separate rooms to assure that everyone in the house gets a good night sleep. We can only do this for a couple more months, but for now, it is what works for us.

Sleep Trouble

And the sleep saga continues. The boys have been doing pretty good at going to bed at night. Jonathan is still adjusting and was up at 5:30 Sunday morning. Fortunately I got him before he woke up Andrew. And then we both took a great nap that afternoon. I'm not made to be up at 5:30! Most mornings they sleep until around 7:30, but this morning Jonathan was crying at 6:30. I don't know what was wrong because he wouldn't use his words, and he wouldn't lay back down. He was, unfortunately, loud enough to wake up Andrew and that was the end of all sleeping!

And this is how I found Jonathan at nap time the other day. We are trying to establish his old room as the baby's room and have rest time in his new bed. But with his new found freedom, naps are a little more tricky. A child-safety door knob has helped keep him in his room. So now I hear these little knocks from time to time, followed by a pathetic, "Hewoo?!"

Apparently it's a rite of passage - this was Andrew in Sept. 2007, almost the exact same age as Jonathan now.

Operation - Share a Room update

Well we have survived nights 4, 5, and 6. The bedtime routine hasn't been too rough. They are pretty tired by bedtime and have gone to sleep fairly easy. (I blame it on the heat. I think we are in some sort of 10-15 day streak of triple-digit temps. AWFUL!)

Anyway, Jonathan continues to take a nap almost every afternoon in his crib. I just don't trust him to stay in the big bed yet. And he's been napping most days because the boys are now early risers. So sad for this mama! We used to have a rule that Andrew had to stay in his room until the first two numbers on his clock were 7:3. But now that they share a room, he comes out the second his eyes open, and he isn't very quiet in his exit. (We're working on that!) So then Jonathan is up for the day too, yelling, "Anroo! Where are you?" Jonathan used to sleep until 8:30-9, but those days seem long forgotten and no one sleeps past 7:30. I know it could be worse and they could wake up at 6:30 or something horrible time like that!

We are surviving and learning a new routine. And the boys LOVE sharing a room and sometimes even play in there together during the day. So I guess this is our new normal. Now I just have to figure out how to get Jonathan to have rest time in his new big boy bed!

I just read this verse today and thought it was fitting:
"The Lord gives strength to his people; the Lord blesses his people with peace." -Psalm 29:11

Operation - Share a Room

A couple weeks ago, we put up the bunk beds. The boys were super excited. We were scared. We held off letting them share a room until this past weekend. I know we need to start this process before preschool starts and before the baby arrives, but it's not easy!

1st night - went pretty well. They were both very tired and went to sleep without too many warnings. But Andrew was up at 7 and by 7:30 he was looking for a playmate, so he decided it would be a good idea to wake Jonathan. His parents were NOT happy with his decision-making process!

2nd night - again pretty good going to sleep. But Jonathan was up at 5:50 am. I told him the sun wasn't up yet and he needed to go back to bed. He argued with, "But I no go ouside!" Two minutes later, Andrew is awake and the parents are groaning with exhaustion. Everyone took a nap that day!

3rd night - repeated threats for silence were required, and we even had to go so far as to put Jonathan back in his crib to drive home the point that it was time to sleep. He, of course, screamed and cried promising to be quiet if we just let him sleep in Andrew's room. So we tried putting him back in the bunk bed. At 9:45 pm, he declares that he wants to sleep in his crib after all and so we put him back in his room. And that was the last we heard from the stinkers last night. And the best part of separating them again...they both slept in! Andrew slept until 8 and Jonathan until 9!

And now we approach the 4th night of this exercise. I'm scared and tired. What will tonight bring? Any ideas of how to make this a smoother transition, without drugs?!